Community briefs - Southside Reporter

The San Antonio Local Organizing Committee (SALOC) is looking for volunteers to help with various tasks when the city hosts the 2018 NCAA Men’s Final Four.

Beginning in late March and through early April, volunteers will be needed to greet fans at the airport, help with events downtown and to transport VIPs. Volunteers need to pre-register, be at least 18 years of age, work a minimum of two four-hour shifts and attend a mandatory orientation.

To register, visit ncaa.com/final-four. All volunteers must consent to a background check and sign a liability waiver to participate.

City seeks poet laureate nominations

The City of San Antonio is seeking nominations for the position of poet laureate for the 2018-2020 term.

It is an honorary position that promotes the literary arts and literacy in the community and through the reading and writing of poetry. The deadline for nominations is 4 p.m. Jan. 12. Nomination forms are available at GetCreativeSanAntonio.com.

The individual selected will serve a two-year term and receive an honorarium of $3,500 per year. The poet laureate is expected to generate public interest in the literary arts, pursue the preservation of the art of poetry, and participate in and make appearances at one public event annually, such as a poetry reading or theatrical performance.

In 2012, San Antonio became the first major Texas city to recognize and appoint a Poet Laureate.

“The fact that San Antonio is the first major city in Texas to appoint a poet laureate is proof of our commitment to the arts and honoring our city’s history and cultural heritage,” said San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg in a news release. “We must continue to give a voice to the guardians of our stories by supporting San Antonio artists, poets, and all the creative communities that work together to ensure our history is never forgotten.”

Nirenberg nominates Tricentennial co-chairs

Mayor Ron Nirenberg has nominated Cynthia Teniente-Matson and John Folks as co-chairs and members of the executive committee of the San Antonio Tricentennial Commission.

Teniente-Matson is president of Texas A&M-San Antonio, and a current member of the Tricentennial Commission. Nirenberg has requested Teniente-Matson be elected as its president.

Folks is the former superintendent of the Northside Independent School District, who served 10 years leading the district.

Upon city council approval, Teniente-Matson and Folks will replace co-chairs Robert Thrailkill and Katie Luber, who are stepping down from the executive committee to coordinate major events for the Tricentennial. Under Commission by-laws, city council has the authority to appoint co-chairs.

Thrailkill and Luber will remain as special advisers to the commission’s executive director.

“The changes I am announcing today are part of the natural evolution of the commission as the outgoing Co-Chairs redirect their attention to specific Tricentennial-related activities,” Nirenberg said in a Dec. 7 news release.

“I am incredibly grateful for the leadership and service that Thrailkill and Luber have contributed to the Commission’s efforts,” he added.

Luber, the Kelso director of the San Antonio Museum of Art, is organizing two ground-breaking international Tricentennial art exhibitions. Thrailkill is playing a key role in organizing the New Year’s Eve celebration.

VIA announces holiday schedule

VIA Metropolitan Transit bus routes and information centers will operate on a different schedule for the Christmas and New Year holidays. The holiday schedule includes:

On Dec. 24 and Dec. 25, the bus routes will operate on the Sunday schedule, and all information centers will be closed. The information line, 210-362-2020, will be open 8 a.m.-5 p.m. on Dec. 24; it will not operate Dec. 25.

On Dec. 31 and Jan. 1, the bus routes will operate on the Sunday schedule, and all information centers will be closed. The information line will operate 8 a.m.-5 p.m. on Dec. 31 and Jan. 1.

For assistance in planning your trips with VIA during the holidays, go to VIAinfo.net, or call the information line.

South Side

Call goes out for best menudo in San Antonio

The South Side Education Association is seeking participants for its first Menudo Cook-Off, scheduled for 1-7 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 16, at the Mission City Soccer Complex, 2600 Red Hill Lane.

Participants can be individuals and teams can be families, friends, businesses or organizations. Vendors also are sought for arts and crafts booths.